Janell HughesThe Cal Poly men’s soccer team seemed to be stung by the chill of a cool November night in the first half until it broke the tie with five minutes left to give the Mustangs a 1-0 win over Cal State Northridge at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Wednesday.
The win was Cal Poly’s first victory since a 2-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 17.
Cal Poly (10-2-4, 5-1-4 Big West Conference) scored the winning goal with only minutes to spare in the first half when Mario Fernandez headed a loose ball to the middle of the field that hit Anton Jeff Meyer Jr. in stride. He then put it past the charging Cal State Northridge goalkeeper, Kevin Guppy, just inside the 18-yard line.
Cal State Northridge controlled the tempo in the early minutes of the game and attacked a loose Cal Poly defense.
The Mustangs’ aggressive play led to many Matadors opportunities. Cal Poly established a physical attitude with one yellow card and 11 fouls compared to Northridge’s four. Tension built between the teams with each hard tackle.
The Matadors’ first chance resulted from a cross into the box that was headed well over the crossbar.
Soon after, Cal State Northridge (5-6-6, 1-4-4) fired a shot from 20 yards that skipped into the goalie’s hands.
Cal Poly could not string together many crisp passes and a turnover led to a Cal State Northridge run up the left side of the field, which resulted in a shot from the 18 that was deflected out of bounds by the Cal Poly defense.
The Mustangs picked up the intensity and their aggressive strategy began to pay off. Momentum swung in Cal Poly’s favor with 15 minutes left in the half when Peterlin sent a low shot from just inside the 18 to the left corner, but Cal State Northridge’s goalie fully extended to make an impressive save.
Branagan-Franco made a diving save after a Matador forward screamed a shot from 20 yards out.
In the 40th minute Poly broke the tie after Meyer scored his first goal of the season by directing the ball to the low left corner past Guppy. Cal Poly had four shots on goal in the first half compared to Cal State Northridge’s three. The Mustangs would preserve that momentum throughout the second half.
Cal Poly maintained its aggressive play and possession throughout the second half with crisp passing and smart play that left the Matadors on their heels. The Mustangs’ defense dictated the rhythm as they out-hustled the Matadors and forced the issue by staying physical.
Cal State Northridge’s best chance came in the last seconds when Sean Franklin collected a loose ball from the 18 and drove a shot by a diving Branagan-Franco that just missed right post.
Each goalie had three saves and Cal Poly outshot Cal State Northridge 8-6.
The Mustangs will head to UC Davis to face the Aggies in their last regular-season away game on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m.